I've written about the opportunity to get Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Gold Status with just one stay instead of 20 nights on multiple occasions. All you have to do is to simply register here with an eligible World MasterCard that is issued in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) and then make one eligible stay at any property in the region - you will then earn instant Gold Preferred Guest status for a year. This amazing deal has now been extended until 14 July 2017 but do note that this upgrade offer is a one-time upgrade per member.

Generally speaking, if you do achieve SPG status after February, you will get it for the rest of the year and the following year. Meaning to say, if you do take advantage of this promotion now, the Gold Preferred Status should expire on February 2018. Take advantage next year from March 2017 and you should have the status until February 2019. Do note however that the SPG program is expected to merge in with the Marriott Rewards (following the acquisition) so the benefits may change in the future. For Singaporeans, you may choose to consider any one of the following cards (please let me know if I have missed any out) to take advantage of this promotion.

New travel credit card from OCBC offers 8 miles per dollar (!) on travel and 4 miles on foreign-spend without cap until 29 February 2020. Stack it with the welcome bonus to supercharge your mile reserve - sign-up NOW for free!